The present invention relates generally to sound attenuators and more specifically to a sound attenuator for an enclosure.
Sound attenuators in the prior art have included passive as well as active attenuators. The use of sound absorbing material is a well-known passive attenuating technique. Active sound attenuators have taken two general approaches. The first is to attenuate the sound at its source. This generally includes measuring the sound at its source and producing a cancelling sound 180.degree. out of phase at the source of the sound or noise. The second method is to cancel or attenuate the noise at a location, remote from the source of the noise, at which inhabitants are expected to occupy.
Within the second group of active sound attenuators in which the noise is cancelled or attenuated at a remote point from the source of the noise, two general overall methodologies have been developed. In the first methodology, noise is attenuated throughout the total enclosure. This generally would include measuring the noise level within the enclosure and providing appropriate cancelling noise to cancel the noise throughout the total enclosure. The less sophisticated systems use a few actuators to produce the cancelling noise where others do a complete study of the total enclosure finding the nodal points of maximum noise and placing the actuators at the maximum nodal point. This second system requires a substantial amount of time and research to determine the nodal points. This method and the less sophisticated systems depend on noise produced during a test period. The noise itself may have different nodal points or be noise different from that designed around and therefore, the anti-noise or cancelling signal produced by the actuators may not be effective. Also, the cancelling noise may combine with the noise level instead of cancelling and reducing it.
In addition to the dynamics of the enclosure, the interaction of the actuators must also be taken into account. This is especially true where the actuators are substantially displaced from the sensors and the actuator must be driven at sufficiently high amplitude. This substantially increases the complexity of the noise patterns within the enclosure.
A second methodology of cancelling the noise in an enclosure specifically at the location of the occupant or inhabitant includes placing earphones on the occupant. The earphones not only operate as a passive device for cancelling sound, they may also have actuators and sensors which measure and actively cancel the noise at the ears. These have generally been suggested for use in industrial environments where there are high levels of noise due to machinery or where a headset is naturally worn, for example by pilots.
In vehicles, which comprise an enclosure, or other space, it is highly desirable to cancel noise existing near the occupants produced by known sources of noise, for example, an engine or other periodically occurring noises of the vehicle, without adversely affecting the hearing of the driver/occupant. It is illegal in some states to wear earphones or other devices while driving since it is believed that it impairs the driver and other occupants from hearing emergency vehicles or being aware of other dangerous conditions about them. Thus, cancellation of the noise in the total enclosure has been the general approach to noise attenuation within the interior of the vehicle.
Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide a sound attenuation system which is localized with respect to the inhabitants without the use of earphones.
Another object of the present invention is to provide localized attenuation of sounds in specific sub-zones of an enclosure without interaction of other sounds within the enclosure.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive sound attenuation system and method to provide localized sound attenuation for the inhabitants of an enclosed space at their positions of occupancy.
These and other objects are attained by mounting an acoustic sensor and actuator, at one or more selected locations of an enclosure, spaced from but immediately adjacent an occupant's ears at the selected location or locations. A synchronization signal is determined for the source of noise and used by a controller in combination with the sensed sounds from the sensor to control the actuator to cancel sounds from the noise source in a zone limited to the inhabitant at the specific selected location without adversely affecting other locations in the enclosure. Preferably, a pair of acoustic sensors and actuators are positioned immediately adjacent each ear of the inhabitant. The controller independently controls the actuators using the synchronization signal and the signal from the associated sensor to cancel the sound from the source of sound in the zone limited to the associated ear. The actuator and sensor should be sufficiently close to the ear to produce a localized zone and prevent interference between the actuators and sensors at each ear of an individual occupant as well as among the various occupants and zones. The sensor should be adjustable so as to be positioned as close as possible to the ear or ears of the occupant to maximize the accuracy of the measurement portion of the system. For the occupant of the vehicle, the sensor and actuator could be mounted to the seat to be occupied by the inhabitant.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.